shoeblack
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of shoeblack
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Food powders make good mashed potatoes�far better than the dark, gooey "shoeblack" potatoes dehydrated for the U.S.
From Time Magazine Archive
It’s all very well for a shoeblack, but it won’t do for an office-boy.”
From My Friend Smith A Story of School and City Life by Reed, Talbot Baines
He had to live like a gentleman upon this, and to give four guineas a year to the laundress, four to his barber, and two to his shoeblack.
From The English Utilitarians, Volume I. by Stephen, Leslie, Sir
“Don’t understand you, Franky,” said Trevor, with a twinkle of the eye, as he allowed himself to be caught by a shoeblack, and placed a slightly soiled boot upon his stand.
From Thereby Hangs a Tale Volume One by Fenn, George Manville
He would not mind her marrying a shoeblack if only he could debase his own family.
From Marion Fay by Trollope, Anthony
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
